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tours

Travel Tip #78: See How Your Sausage Is Made

Seeing where food comes from can be both an educational and harrowing experience. When you travel, tours of fish markets, breweries and other stops in the consumption chain make for amazing learning opportunities.

Tsukiji Fish Market was a highlight of my trip to Japan. Checking out Brooklyn Brewery just over the bridge from where I live was a great afternoon. Seeing how food and drink go from raw ingredients to our plates is not just great for travel memories, it’s also worth knowing for your own health.

What foods and drinks have you seen from beginning to end in your travels? Share your experiences in the comments.

How to decide if a tour is right for you

I already discussed why it’s OK to take tours. Now, over at Gadling, I cover what questions to ask before booking a tour. From language issues, to cultural issues to how much size matters, there are many things to consider before embarking on a guided tour.

How to decide if a tour is right for you

Travel Tip #22: It’s OK to Take Tours

Some people are so intent on being independent travelers that they dismiss all tours as commercial, disingenuous and inauthentic. Those people are idiots. Am I being harsh? Perhaps. But those holier than thou travelers don’t make the rules for everyone who travels. They simply make rules for themselves and project their ideologies on the rest of us. There are some wonderful tours out there and sometimes they offer the best opportunities to enjoy some truly wonderful experiences.

Janelle Nanos, Special Projects Editor at National Geographic Traveler, wrote (eloquently, I might add) about this topic on Intelligent Travel before taking a tour of Morocco. Janelle and I recently discussed her opinions on tours and how her experience changed how she views them.

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